


Desert Refuge

by orphan_account



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Blow Jobs, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Multi, Oral Sex, Polyamory, flangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:01:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22304581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Rian is being haunted by an ever persistent headache, and the demise of Deet, Mira, his father, and Maurda Fara.He need to get out of the public eye for a while, and the Circle of the Suns is just the place.
Relationships: Brea/Deet (Dark Crystal), Brea/Gurjin (Dark Crystal), Deet/Gurjin/Rian (Dark Crystal), Deet/Rian (Dark Crystal), Gurjin/Rian (Dark Crystal), Rian/Deet/Brea/Gurjin, skekGra/urGoh (Dark Crystal)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	1. shock

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there Fellas. This is My first public story.

Rian sat on the overhang, his legs hanging over the edge. He wasn’t able to sleep in the silence of the desert. He missed being able to hear the river flowing far below the crystal castle. He missed sharing a cot with Gurjin and Mira. He missed his father.  
He wasn’t used to the strange sights and smells in the circle of the suns. The constant smell of urdrupe smoke, sage, and the weird shapes in the crowded Cave.  
“What… brings… you out… here… young one?” The Wanderer sighed, creeping his way over to the young gelfling.  
“I couldn’t sleep,” Rian replied without looking at the old Mystic.  
“You… miss her,.. don’t … you?” UrGoh put both left hand-paws on Rian’s back, nearly knocking the gelfling over.  
Rian sighed. He forgot about how observant the Mystics were.  
“I suppose that is one way you could put it.”  
“You… are not… the… only one. I… can sense… it… on the… others… too.”  
Rian turned toward the UrGoh, not knowing how to reply. He knew it was true, he wasn’t the only one who missed Deet. Gurjin had liked her too.  
He didn’t want to think about the mess that the revolution had caused. His head hurt, not any more than it had when he had arrived at the Circle of the Suns after the battle.  
“You… have… a head-...ache. Urdrupe… berries… can help… with… the… pain.”  
“Please, Wanderer, I don’t wish to speak with Thra today.”  
“Suit… yourself.” UrGoh huffed. Rian’s ears twitched as the Mystic shuffled away, his tail dragging on the sandy floor not being the only sound he heard.  
“Rian, you need to sleep at some point. The brothers have risen and set three times since I last saw you in bed.”  
“You’re one to talk, Drenchen.”  
“What’s wit’ ta’ attitude, mate?”  
“Really, Gurjin, I’m not in the mood for your accents. It’s been a hard, the last couple of times that the brothers have risen.”  
“Come on, You know I can do a killer Dousan. You have to admit, no matter what mood you’re in, it’s still pretty damn accurate.”  
Rian scoffed. His head hurt too much for his friend’s antics.  
“I know you miss her. We all do. You really are bad at hiding stuff.”  
Rian put his hands on his face. He didn’t want to think about Deet anymore. He didn’t want any more thoughts to swirl in his pounding head anymore.  
“Good Thra, Rian, Your head!” There was alarm in his friend’s voice, making him look up.  
“What about it?” He asked, his voice thick but interested.  
“It’s cut open. I was wondering why your hair looked wet.”  
Rian put his face in his hands again. As if the night couldn’t get any worse.  
“It must have happened when SkekMal picked you up-  
“I keep forgetting that you two are on a first-name basis.”  
“Nevermind that, come on let’s get you cleaned up. You’re going to have to get all this-” Gurjin gestured to the side of his friend’s head “-Looked at.”  
Rian tried to protest but was slung over his friend’s shoulder before he could get the words out.

Rian decided he must be delirious from lack of sleep. He was hallucinating. He must be. He wasn’t really in a bath that’s water was red with his own blood. He didn’t have a buff Drenchen prince naked in front of him, touching his ears and face. He couldn’t have a Vapran princess washing his bloody, matted hair, Right?  
“Rian,  
Rian, Are you okay?  
Rian?”  
His vision was distorted with pain and blood, and the voices he heard sounded like they were underwater. Maybe they were. He couldn’t tell anymore.

Rian opened his eyes when he felt long, talon-like claws on his face.  
“Hold still, I’m almost done.” The owner of the clawed hand squawked in an annoyed tone.  
“What? What’s happen-  
“The Hunter went out with a bang, and he made sure you (Dear, can you hand me those clippers, please) would never forget him. Okay, You’re done.”  
“Done with what?” He asked, looking around the room at a smirking UrRu, a dissatisfied looking Skeksis, and Two horrified looking gelfling.  
“What. Did. You. Do?” Rian asked in a hushed tone. He looked at Gurjin, and then Brea, who was stifling a laugh.  
“Brea, tell me, what happened?”  
“Rian-  
“Brea, don’t! Let him find out for himself,” Gurjin said, putting his hand over the princess's mouth.  
“What. Did. You. Do?” Rian asked again, not wanting to face the culprit.  
“You see, The Hunter sliced open your head, and I couldn’t access the wound through your hair, so-  
“He cut off your hair,” Brea gasped, struggling out of the Drenchen’s grasp.  
“You what?!” Rian screeched, whirling around to face The Heretic. Sure enough, he felt the significant loss of weight.  
“I mean, all that hair was inconvenient for battle. Isn’t that how SkekMal caught you in the first place?”  
“If… It helps… short… hair… suits you.” The Wanderer added, tucking a few dark blue strands behind the pouty gelfling’s ear.  
“He has a point. You do look good with short hair,” Gurjin pointed out.  
Rian Sighed. He was here to escape the public eye, It’s not like he would be seen like this anyway.

“What a wonderful start to another day,” Rian sighed sarcastically, flopping down on the hammock like thing that hung from the roof of the stone structure in between Gurjin and Brea.  
“It’s not the start of the day for you though, is it?” Brea asked, worry prevalent in her voice. “We all miss her, and not sleeping isn’t going to bring her back, now is it?”  
Brea, of course, was right, and Rian knew that. He Knew that Hup, Naia, and Kylan were searching the entire forest for her, following a trail of darkened plants.  
“You need this, Rian. Wishing you were there to help only makes it hurt more,” Gurjin mumbled through a thick haze of heat and sleep that had fallen over the three of them.  
“I know, Gurjin,  
I know.”


	2. Denial

“UrGoh! Get your slow ass out of the studio! We don’t have all day!” The puppet master shrieked, slamming his walking stick into the wall, scaring Rian enough to make him fall out of the hammock.  
It was light out, with the three brothers beating down on the spire from above.  
“Ah! You’re up!” A cheerful voice said from somewhere above him. On the ceiling? He didn’t know.  
“Rian, why are you on the floor?” Brea inquired, leaning over him so he could see her face.  
“In all honesty, I am not completely sure myself. I think I fell”  
“Well, that much is obvious. You slept for three days straight. We were pretty worried about you,” Gurjin said, coming into Rian’s line of sight. The larger Gelfling grabbed his hands, pulling him up onto his feet.  
“Ah-Ha! UrGoh, Rian is awake!” The Heretic cooed with an odd sense of pride in his voice.  
“You have nothing to be proud of, Heretic,” Rian muttered his ears drooping. His head was aching, and the stitches in his scalp stung.  
“Rian, You’ll have to forgive him eventually. He had to do what he had to do. He couldn’t get to the wound through your hair, and it had been so long since it had happened, They were worried about infection,” Brea said, trying to reason why the Heretic had cut off his hair.   
“I suppose, but really, this-” Rian looked down at his shoulder length hair “-was unnecessary.”  
“Plus, it looks good on you,” Gurjin drawled, kissing the back of Rian’s head just to be immediately swatted off. The two of them received a strange look from a certain skeksis.  
“Brea, Rian seems a bit annoyed, don’t you agree?” queried the Drenchen, who had a mischievous look on his face.  
“Indeed. We’ll have to do something about that,” Brea agreed, much to Rian’s Dismay.  
“I... think... not!” The wanderer huffed, lunging (in slow motion) to sweep Rian off his feet. “His... head hasn’t... healed… yet, and… he needs… a… proper… heart rate… so the... wound… doesn't… start… to bleed… again,” The Mystic finally managed to sigh out, to the disappointment of two gelfling, and the relief of one, who managed to wriggle out of his grasp and stand beside him.  
“Hmm, I suppose you have to always be right,”   
“In…  
“Indeed. Just say it!”  
...Deed…”  
The Heretic muttered something under his breath and walked off someplace that Rian couldn’t see.  
“Naia sent a note saying she is on her way back with Hup and Kylan,” Brea said cheerfully, shuffling through some papers on her makeshift desk in the center of the small room.  
Rian felt as if he was swimming. His reality was dripping out of his hands like blood-soaked sand. He had lost so much in the last Unum, how could Thra so being so cruel to him? What had he done?  
“Well, Hello there! We weren’t expecting you back so soon!” A deep, familiar voice chirped, shaking the young Gelfling out of his thoughts.  
“Hup! It’s good to see you!” He said turning toward the wide-eyed podling.  
“Rian Hair… Gone!”   
“Yeah, The Hunter got me and Heretic couldn’t get to the wound through my hair,” The Gelfling responded, still visibly seething.  
“Brea said something about it in her note. I thought it would look worse. You’re cute for a guy, you know,”   
“Oh. Hi, Naia, didn’t see you there.”  
“Rude.”  
Rian stuck his tongue out at his friend. It felt nice to be in her presence once again.  
“And I’m here too,” exclaimed a certain Spriton, holding his beloved firca.  
Rian forced a shallow smile in exchange for the greeting. It had been a long time since Rian had seen any gelfling other than Brea and Gurjin, and he was glad to see his friends again, but the knowledge that the three of them returned meant they hadn’t found Deet.  
“I’m sorry, Rian. We looked all throughout the Endless Forest,” the gelling could see the regret in the Drenchen’s eyes as she spoke.   
“B-but she must be somewhere! The Caves of Grot maybe, or Sami Thicket! She has to be somewhere!” Rian was trembling. Deet had to be somewhere, right? She couldn’t have just disappeared. That wasn’t possible. What if the Skeksis got her?  
What if the Skeksis got her?  
Rian had reached his breaking point.


	3. Pain

Rian saw his whole world come crashing down around him. He was losing everyone he loved, and for what, his life? He wasn’t worth an ounce of what he had been given. He had killed Mira. If he hadn’t insisted on going spitter hunting, Mira would still be alive. If he had been careful to avoid the grasps of the Skeksis, his Father would still be alive. If he had taken the fall instead of Deet, she wouldn’t see herself as a danger to others. She wouldn’t have run off to Thra knows where.  
All the sacrifices that were made for him. What did he do? He had shielded himself instead of running at the Skeksis. He escaped the castle while Gurjin, His best friend, was held back and tortured.  
Who was next? Brea? Kylan? Hup? Naia? The Heretic? The wanderer?  
Rian opened his eyes. The bright light from the three brothers shone on his tear-stained face. He rubbed his eyes.  
The spire was quieter than death, with everyone looking at him. He had looked weak in the eyes of his fellow paladins, and he knew they would never see him the same. He would never be able to forgive himself for the humiliation he had brought upon himself.  
He tried to free himself of the bedding he had been wrapped up in, but he was being restrained by a pair of strong arms.  
“Stay here. I don’t trust you enough to leave yet,” The owner of the arms, a certain friend of his, said with a hint of remorse in his voice.  
Oh, Thra did he wish he could stay in those arms for the rest of eternity. He really didn’t want to move, but he didn’t want to be the victim of the pity.  
“Please,” He said through chapped lips, his voice a hoarse whisper. His message was received, as those in the house had continued going about their business. All accept Brea who came and sat at the foot of the makeshift pillow-bed.  
She looked contemplative at first before her left ear flicked with her decision. “Hi,” she whispered, flanking him on his other side. The Stonewood hummed in acknowledgment of his friend’s presence. He wanted to curl up into the both of them and stay that way for many Trine to come, but he didn’t voice this opinion out loud.  
The Vapran gelfling nuzzled into his hair, which was fanning out behind him. Her breath warmed the back of his neck and tickled his neck. He stretched his arms and arched his back, curling into her like a fizzgig.  
“Do you feel better now?”  
“A lot better, actually,” He was in fact not feeling at all better. He wanted to disappear, to turn into dust like the Skeksis who had taken the life of his father.  
“Tell the truth, Rian,” Brea sighed, snuggling even further into the back of the Stonewood’s hair.  
“Shut up and let me sleep,” came a low grumble from the other side of the gelfing’s body. The flick of an ear, the twitch of a shoulder, and Gurjin had fallen back asleep with a soft snore. Rian could tell that the princess’s breathing had slowed as well. He was left the only one awake in the pillow nest under Thra’s three suns.  
The Heretic was sunning himself outside of the cloth banner that served as a door, the harsh desert light glinting off of the memory of his exile. The sound of large, shuffling feet and a dragging tail ascending to the loft above, where the calming smell of UrDrupe smoke was the most prominent.  
The sounds of soft talking and the occasional chuckle resonated throughout the obelisk, bouncing off the walls and ceiling.  
Under the hazy watch of the suns, Rian felt himself drifting off.

“Mira! Watch out! Mira!” The thin, bony hand of The Chamberlain lodged itself into the hair of the female paladin. Rian could only look on in despair, knowing that running after her wouldn’t do any good. He watched her struggle against the Skeksis grasp. “Chamberlain caught a pretty one, Hmmmm Scientist?” “She’ll do.”  
Rian watched the life force being drained out of Mira for a second time, unable to look away. No sooner had she disappeared than he heard the familiar snarl of the Hunter, accompanied by the clashing of two swords. He whipped around to see his father trying to keep himself steady as he fought off the hunter alone. The two of them began to sink into the floor, which had started writhing. “Run.” He mouthed, but the movement was accompanied by no sound. The whole world had gone dead silent, and the castle floor had begun to break from underneath him. He was falling, down to the water below. Down to his possible death. The castle was so high up, and the water was so far down.  
The river yawned before him, opening up to swallow him whole. He couldn’t breathe. He was underwater, the faint flicker of light from high above, and he couldn’t breathe.

The gelfling spluttered awake in a cold sweat. His chest was heaving with the remnants of the dream. Luckily he was the first one up and could compose himself rather quickly.  
His back ached from sleeping on the floor, sandwiched in a position that defied his anatomy between his two best friends. He stood up and cracked his spine rather loudly, making the Heretic stir on the other side of the room. It was unfortunate that the Skeksis was a light sleeper. He would much rather deal with UrGoh at the Moment. Why did Thra have to be so cruel to him? He just wanted to get a full night of sleep for once, and then have a moment when he awoke.  
The sisters took their time making their way across the heavens, and that meant Rian had plenty of time. He fumbled his way across the shadowy cave to the spring-fed bath in the back.  
He stripped himself bare and slowly eased his way into the luke-warm water. He had longed for a proper bath ever since the second battle of Stone-in-Wood. The basin was deeper than he expected, reaching up to his chin. It made sense, creatures much bigger than him lived in this place. He leaned back, his hair splayed out on the surface of the water, held afloat by the accumulated oils due to it not being washed. He floated in the water, suspended just below the surface with his eyes closed for what seemed like forever.  
When he opened his eyes again, they were met with small beady ones of Hup. He shrieked, trying to cover himself best be could. The podling put a small finger over his mouth.  
“Get up. Quiet. Someone ‘ere for Rian”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this gets pretty sexual, and there are mentions of rape/non-con, If this makes anyone uncomfortable, or if I need to add trigger warnings, let me know.

Rian looked over the edge of the bath, his heart pounding in his chest.  
“Hello, Rian.”  
“Rek’yr. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”  
“I know. I have come to seek help from The wanderer. Our healer has left with the rest of our clan for Stone in wood, and I have not been able to get medical treatment after my encounter with the Hunter.”  
“He got you too, I presume?” Rian sighed, tucking his hair behind his ear, exposing the shaved patch dotted with stitches.  
“I’d say we have more in common than you realise,” The sandmaster chuckled through a tense smile. Rian looked at the Dousan. His blue skin glistened in the early light of the suns., and his violet tresses were braided and hanging over his left shoulder. He was clearly several trine older than him.  
The watery light of the fading moons saturated the floor in it’s eerie glow, bouncing off of Rian’s wet skin. He saw the Dousan look away shamefully.  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realise that you were indecent.”  
“I didn’t know you were coming here. No one is supposed to know that I’m here,”  
“I did not come here for you. I did not know you were here until your podling said so.”  
“He’s not my podling, He’s his own podling.”  
“Of course, that’s what I meant.”  
Rian looked over him skeptically. Why was he here? Yes he needed medical attention, and his clan’s healer was busy, but he himself had said that death hangs heavy over the circle of the suns and advised them all, or really just Brea, to stay away from it. His clan never came here, so why was he here now?  
“Is the princess here?” The violet haired man quired, looking around the shadowy hollow of sandstone. The Stonewood rolled his eyes. Of course he was looking for Brea. He didn’t like this gelfling, and he felt a sense of protectiveness for his Vapran friend. She’s more than that. He stood up to his full height, the cool morning air of the desert on his bare chest making him shiver. He could tell that Rek’yr was starting to get uncomfortable.  
“If it was my choice, I would say no,” Rian said coldly, his eyes trained on the other male.  
“It isn’t your choice. It’s hers.”  
“She is not awake.”  
Hup looked at Rain With a warning glance, signaling for him to stop. He put on a fake smile and Rek’ry did the same.  
“I shall return later then,” The Dousan bowed and sauntered out of the opening of the structure.  
“Didn’t know it was possible to scare away a Dousan,” A gravelly voice groaned, yellow eyes shining in the darkness.  
Rian jumped before sinking back down into the slightly warm water of the bath.  
“Heretic. You’re awake.”  
“I wouldn’t be if you had been quieter,” The Skeksis grumbled, rubbing his forehead with his four bony fingers.  
“My apologies. I didn’t intend for all of Thra to hear our conversation, and for the record, I don’t think he was afraid of me,” The Gelfling responded, icy eyes penetrating the depths of the shadows.  
“It seems you have started talking to me again,” SkekGra responded with mock enthusiasm.  
“Don’t flatter yourself. He doesn’t stay mad for long,” a certain overconfident drenchen said,untangling himself from a barely conscious Brea.  
“That’s not true!” Rian exclaimed, ears flat against his head at the insult. Gurjin smirked and shook his head. He ran his fingers through Brea’s hair, making her stir and hir wings flick out in irritation, and she mumbled something along the lines of let me sleep and nuzzled deeper into Gurjin’s…  
Groin. Rian sighed, seeing the dark blush creeping up his friend’s neck and ears.  
“Brea, people are staring.”  
The silverling’s ears flicked in acknowledgment and she burrowed deeper into the blankets. Good Thra she was bold.  
“I wish someone would do that to me,” Rian chuckled, reaching for the too-far-away towel.  
“You do have someone,” the glint in the drenchen’s eye evident. “You stay right there,” good Thra, that smile, the cunning eyes, the olive skin, he was coming closer, approaching the spring-fed pool of luke warm water.  
Oh.  
OH.  
He looked pointedly at the betrayed looking Vapran in the abandoned nest of blankets, not noticing his friend slip into the water with the ease of a fish.  
“Ah,” he exclaimed feeling a hand on the -very naked- small of his back. He and Gurjin had not been physically intimate in a long while, and it felt good to be in that position again. Brea shook her head and Gurjin waved dismissively at her, “She’s already had her fun. Don’t worry about her.”  
“Pull on my hair if you need me to stop,” Gurjin said, letting his expression grow serious before completely submerging himself under the water.  
Rian felt something warm and wet engulfing him, on his head and down his shaft, until his whole length was in Gurjin’s mouth, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

The Hunter’s third member had penetrated his mouth, his jaws stretched wide around the Skeksis, as the depths of his throat were explored by the beast that towered over him. He felt the Chamberlain abusing his other end as well, both of the skeksis crying out in pure pleasure, the most horrifying noise that he had ever heard.

Gurjin’s head resurfaced, a concerned look on his face. Rian had reopened his eyes, which were as glassy as his breathing was ragged.  
“Rian, are you okay? What’s wrong?”  
“No! Stop! Don’t hurt me,” Rian showed Gurjin back and balled himself up, legs crossed and arms over his head. “Please, my lord... stop… You’re hurting me!”  
Gurjin’s expression changed from confusion to realization and then horror. He wanted to pull his friend into a hug, or a dreamfast, just so he could get him out of his own head. A suffocating wave of guilt, one that not even the drenchen could breathe in, washed over him as he realized that it had been him that had brought on these visions.  
“What is this?” A familiar shrill voice shattered the silence, the Heretic’s dominant arms crossed in front of him, looming over the bath.  
“The Skeksis lords… they’re… doing a lot more things with Gelfling than we realized. They… weren’t as bad with me,” The Drenchen said uneasily, looking to the other side of the room to make eye contact with Brea, who had witnessed the whole thing from afar.  
SkekGra’s eyes widened, horror, fury, and shame evident. “They were bad when I was there, but they didn’t even bother with the gelfling. A lot has changed since I’ve left. UrGoh! Make some ta, will you?”  
The Heretic kept rambling, but Gurjin was no longer paying attention. His eyes were trained on his friend, who was less tense now, but he was still misty-eyed, and not to mention unresponsive.  
“When you wake, show me what they did.”Gurjin said, with a kiss on his head and then on his hand. “Thra can’t help us now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be writing for a while now. I am probably not going to update for a while, so It'll be a couple of weeks/months


End file.
